Chinese vice FM meets Pak leadership

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Sun Weidong held meetings with President Arif Alvi, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, and Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Monday.

Pakistan and China have reiterated their desire for enhanced cooperation in the areas of economy, information technology (IT), agriculture, and human resource development for the mutual benefit of the two friendly countries.

This was discussed during a meeting between the visiting Vice Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China Sun Weidong, who along with his delegation, called on President Dr Arif Alvi at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Monday. Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong was also present during the meeting.

Welcoming the delegation, the president said that China was a very dear friend that had always supported Pakistan during difficult times. He highlighted that CPEC projects had contributed to the economic development of Pakistan, besides helping meet its energy needs.

The president stated that Pakistan was fully committed to the high-quality development of CPEC, adding that the Chinese support in the next phase of CPEC would be crucial for Pakistan’s industrial development.

He remarked that economic cooperation between the two friendly countries would further cement bilateral ties. He appreciated the Chinese support in stabilising Pakistan’s economy.

The president said that Pakistan wanted to learn from the Chinese experience in IT, education, health, agriculture, and poverty alleviation for its socio-economic development. He remarked that Pakistan and China held similar views on various regional and international issues and cooperated at different fora.

He reiterated that Pakistan would continue to support China on all core issues, including the “One China” Policy, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, and the South China Sea. He said that Pakistan was grateful to China for supporting Pakistan’s national development and its principled stance on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

The visiting vice foreign minister of China said that Pakistan and China had a long history of friendly relations which would continue to grow stronger. He said that CPEC had yielded fruitful results, adding that both the countries had huge potential for increasing cooperation in various fields.

He also thanked the president for visiting China during the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, saying that his support to express solidarity with China would always be remembered. Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong paid a courtesy call on Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Monday.

The prime minister welcomed the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister as well as members of his delegation and said Pakistan deeply valued its all-weather, strategic, cooperative partnership with China.

Recalling his visit to Beijing for the 3rd Belt and Road Forum in October 2023, the prime minister said he was deeply touched by the warm sentiments of President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang towards Pakistan. He also conveyed best wishes for the Chinese leadership.

The prime minister said Pakistan was fully committed to the success of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and stressed the need for both sides to continue to work closely to ensure timely completion of ongoing projects. In addition to Pakistan-China relations, the regional situation also came under discussion.

The Chinese vice foreign minister thanked the prime minister for the courtesy call and briefed him regarding various meetings held during the visit. He conveyed special greetings of the Chinese leadership to the prime minister. The vice foreign minister said China and Pakistan were “iron-brothers”. He assured that China would always remain a reliable partner in Pakistan’s socio-economic progress.

Meanwhile, Sun Weidong Monday called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir here at General Headquarters and conveyed China’s satisfaction on security arrangements for CPEC projects.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) news release, during the meeting matters of mutual interest and measures to further enhance bilateral defence cooperation were discussed.

The Chinese vice foreign minister said that Pakistan and China are all-weather strategic partners. He acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts towards regional peace and stability.

The COAS thanked the visiting dignitary for his warm remarks and said that relations between Pakistan and China are founded on a common understanding of regional peace, stability and prosperity for the people of both countries.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani received Vice Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Sun Weidong in his office Monday.

FM Jilani and Vice Foreign Minister Sun reaffirmed the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and held an in-depth discussion on the entire gamut of bilateral relations including CPEC and bilateral economic and financial cooperation.

The foreign minister appreciated the contributions of vice foreign minister in deepening Pakistan-China friendship and commended China’s unflinching support to Pakistan on all issues.

Expressing satisfaction at the steady development of CPEC, Foreign Minister Jilani emphasized the significance of CPEC for Pakistan. He said that Pakistan would continue making efforts for realization of CPEC’s full potential for shared benefits. He appreciated China’s readiness and support for all CPEC projects in Pakistan.

Thanking the foreign minister for the generous hospitality, Vice Foreign Minister Sun highlighted that as iron brother and a reliable friend, China accorded immense importance to Pakistan in its foreign policy and looked forward to even deeper cooperation in all fields.